“O my God, what must a soul be like when it is in this state! It longs to be all one tongue with which to praise the Lord. It utters a thousand pious follies, in a continuous endeavor to please Him who thus possesses it.”

“Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds.”

“Pain is never permanent.”

“Reflect upon the providence and wisdom of God in all created things and praise Him in them all.”

“The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too.”

“There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.”

“To have courage for whatever comes in life — everything lies in that.”God gave us faculties for our use; each of them will receive its proper reward. Then do not let us try to charm them to sleep, but permit them to do their work until divinely called to something higher.”

"God has been very good to me, for I never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other virtue in that person.”

"I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him.”

"It is here, my daughters, that love is to be found - not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater.”

"Christ has no body now, but yours.No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.Yours are the eyes through whichChrist looks compassion into the world.Yours are the feetwith which Christ walks to do good.Yours are the handswith which Christ blesses the world."

“I am afraid that if we begin to put our trust in human help, some of our Divine help will fail us.”

“I would never want any prayer that would not make the virtues grow within me.”

“It is love alone that gives worth to all things.”

“Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.”

“One must not think that a person who is suffering is not praying. He is offering up his sufferings to God, and many a time he is praying much more truly than one who goes away by himself and meditates his head off, and, if he has squeezed out a few tears, thinks that is prayer. “

“Our greatest gain is to lose the wealth that is of such brief duration and, by comparison with eternal things, of such little worth; yet we get upset about it and our gain turns to loss.”

“Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing. “

“Suffering is a great favor. Remember that everything soon comes to an end . . . and take courage. Think of how our gain is eternal.”

“The most potent and acceptable prayer is the prayer that leaves the best effects. I don't mean it must immediately fill the soul with desire . . . The best effects [are] those that are followed up by actions-----when the soul not only desires the honor of God, but really strives for it. “

“The tree that is beside the running water is fresher and gives more fruit.”

“To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience.”

“Truth suffers, but never dies.”

“Vocal prayer . . . must be accompanied by reflection. A prayer in which a person is not aware of Whom he is speaking to, what he is asking, who it is who is asking and of Whom, I don't call prayer-----however much the lips may move.”

“We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can - namely, surrender our will and fulfill God's will in us.”

“We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being humble.”

“What a great favor God does to those He places in the company of good people!”

“You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him.”

See also

As Carmelites We live our life of allegiance to Jesus Christ and to serve Him faithfully with a pure heart and a clear conscience through a commitment to seek the face of the living God (the contemplative dimension of life), through prayer, through fraternity, and through service (diakonia). These three fundamental elements of the charism are not distinct and unrelated values, but closely interwoven.

All of these we live under the protection, inspiration and guidance of Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, whom we honor as "our Mother and sister."